Main aims of the module:

1. Additional opportunities for services provided by companies for employees and their families on the basis of COLLECTIVE or other type of agreements. Opportunities for education, training and career development when experiencing problems in work & life balance. Main aims of the module: to make information available about additional opportunities for services provided by companies for employees and their families and social dialogue at acompany level. to make available information about opportunities for education, training and career development within work-life balance. to overview good practices towards Collective agreement that helps to reconcile work and family life for employees. MODULE 5.

2. MODULE 5. Steps by steps to reach a Collective Agreement: Step ONEtowards additional/improved services provided by company that helps improve work & life balance is dialogue – bipartite social dialoguebetween employee and employer. Social dialogue is for each of the economically active population who are in employment relations. Parties - employer and employee - can agree on mutual rights and obligations in addition to laying down the law and regulations, such as company salary establishment, employees skill development, social protection and work safety issues. Step TWO - Collective bargaining, a process of voluntary negotiation between employers and trade unions aimed at reaching agreements which regulate working conditions. [IN ACCORDANCE TO EACH PARTNER COUNTRY] • Step THREE is Collective agreement that usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, and additional opportunities providing work & life balance. elledgegroup.org

3. Major Trade Union confederations in [name your country and insert information. Some of you do not have to do it already;), for those of you who are mentioned below]: LITHUANIA: LPS „Solidarumas“ is the trade union organisation uniting the industrial trade union federations and towns/regions territorial trade unions. Find more at http://www.lps.lt Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation (LPSK) is a biggest trade union centre in Lithuania, at the moment comprises 26 branches of trade unions. Find more at http://www.lpsk.lt/ Lietuvos darbo federacija (LDF) is a Christian trade union that was created in the Congress of Lithuanian Christian workers representatives’ on 27-28 of September, 1919 in Kaunas. Find more at http://www.ldf.lt/ FINLAND: International Labour organisation (ILO).The main purpose of a union is to safeguard and improve the benefits and rights of its members. This includes, for example, income development, employment security, and quality of work life. Find more at http://www.ilo.orgILO has ranked Finnish unions as amongst the most effective in the world: MODULE 5. GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TRADE UNION WORK IN [NAME YOUR COUNTRY]

4. Major Trade Union confederations in your countries: FINLAND: SAK - Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, the oldest employee confederation in Finland. Members are from industry, the public sector, transport and private services. Find more at http://www.sak.fi STTK - The Finnish Confederation of Professionals, Trade union confederation formed by 20 affiliated unions. Members are from the public sector, private industry and the private service sector. Find more at http://www.sttk.fi AKAVA - Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff in Finland. Trade union confederation for those with university, professional or other high-level education. Find more at http://www.akava.fi GERMANY: DGB – Confederation of German Trade unions is umbrella organization for 8 German trade unions. Find more at http://www.dgb.de/ MODULE 5. GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT TRADE UNION WORK IN YOUR COUNTRY

5. Training/retraining of employers is considered as very significant measure of support for those who return to labour market after the break due to family reasons. MODULE 5. • These services can be provided by different actors: • Governmental institutions • Non-governmental institutions • Private institutions • Those services can be supported by: • The state • Private companies • EU supported programmes

6. In Finland there are no formal arrangements for training or retraining for employees who return back to work after a break due to family reasons. MODULE 5. Get more information about training opportunities in Your Country: [PLEASE INSERT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IF NECESSARY AND DELETE INFORMATION ABOUT OTHER COUNTRIES] • Based on a Survey on family leave policies, one in seven organisations offered some training for employees returning to work; one in five organisations offered no training. • Accordingly, there is a lot of room for development of new practices to support leave taking and retuning employees. • Family leaves and gender equality in working life. Ministry of Employment and the Economy, 24: 2009.

7. In Germany the government tries to support parents who return to the labour market after parental leave with programmes, e.g. “perspective re-entry”. MODULE 5. • The programme aims at women who were on leave for at least three years. While the programme is realised by the federal government and supported by the European Structural Funds (ESF), local agencies create networks to support the programme. • The agencies support the women in making contacts to employers. • Further, they offer trainings to renew and strengthen individual skills and knowledge.

8. In Italy there is no national or local law that guarantees the right of employees to a period of training-retraining to be used after a break for parental or health reasons. MODULE 5. • Singly companies can propose refresher courses or ‘matching on spot’ periods, according to targeted own employees’ training needs. • The national law guarantees the workers’s right of lifelong training (art. 6 - Law 53/2000) • Local governments (Regions, Provinces) deliver a range of training initiatives and services to target groups (unemployed or non-employed people, women, youngs). Training courses are managed by local training centres and co-funded by the ESF - European Social Fund. • According to the national law 388/2000 companies can contribute towards special funds to be used for the continuous training of their employees. Agreements between both confederations (employers and trade unions) have to be signed down. Training courses can be planned by single companies or larger groups by sector or context.

9. MODULE 5. There were a few programs, supported by ESF in 2009 in Lithuania as well, which also stressed an importance to support the integration of different people into the labour market or to help them to reconcile their family and professional roles. Individuals who have had problems to return to labour market due to family reasons were among target groups as well. Many nongovernmental organisations, state institutions (like Lithuanian Labour Exchange) and private companies have been involved in diverse integration actions under support of ESF. Recently a big attention is paid to more active labour market policies and measures of support for employment in Lithuania. In 2009 the Law on Support for Employment has been modified, which newly defined the target groups in need of extra and more active measures of support in labour market. One of them - family members, who have made breaks in their professional careers due to family reasons (child care or care for elderly or disable family members) and have had problems to return to labour market. The law anticipates different scheme of subsidies for employers, who employ these persons, also subsidies for their professional training qualification raising.

10. MODULE 5. In United Kingdomthe Department of Work and Pensions delivers a range of services for those looking to find or return to work via it’s Jobcentre Plus offices throughout the country. Jobcentres provide the opportunity to search for a job, to seek help and advice when applying for work and to access information on planning a career. In addition Jobcentre Plus provides a range of training and development programmes, including New Deal, WorkPath, Progress2Work and Programme Centres. Programmes such as New Deal for Lone Parents and Disabled People, and the recently developed ‘Flexible New Deal’ operating in 40 new centres, help people back into employment, offering the opportunity to train, learn and do work experience; it provides additional support to those who have been out of work for a long time, people with disabilities, and those in need of extra help to find work. The purpose is to enable jobseekers to gain confidence, get new or improved skills, and find and stay in work. To support people seeking or returning to work financial support in the form of Jobseekers Allowance is available, independent, free advice on financial benefits training and employment are available at Citizen’s Advice Centres across the UK. Another organisation - Lifelong Learning UK should be mentioned, which is responsible for the professional development of the UK workforce. It provides support in Career Guidance, Community Learning, Further Education, Higher Education and Work-Based Learning. Financial assistance to help with some of the costs of retraining is available through a range of Government Grants including Career Development Loans and Ault Learning Grants.

11. MODULE 5. PRACTICAL EXERCISES Family Friendly Work Places with Trade Union and Collective Agreement (reflections on the basis of video clip No.5). Case study “Collective Agreement – Platform To Build Work And Life Balance In Institution/Company” (Interview No.20). Case study “Cancer Care” (Interview No.11) Case study “Career Is Not A Barrier For Happy Family” (Interview No.17) Case study “A Recipe For Success, Flexibility, Childcare And Training” (Interview No.10) We suggest to deepen your knowledge on the topic of the module by analysing the following case studies: Practical exercises can be selected by the trainer in accordance with the needs of the trainees.

12. MODULE 3. Case studies of best practices REMEMBER …. While analysing the presented cases studies, try to reflect yourself on these questions: What is your family situation? What is the situation in your company? What kind of agreement you work with?

13. MODULE 5. Case studies of best practices Case study: “Family Friendly Work Places with Trade Union and Collective Agreement” Aim: to create awareness of trainees about the companies practices related with reconciliation of work and life balance Task: to review the video clip and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: 30 min. • Questions for reflection: • What makes central personage so safe during her stay at home? What we can do in helping to improve our labour relations with employer? • What (additional) initiatives could you suggest for work & life balance in your company? • What national policies (legislation, secondary legislation) facilitating work and life balance adopted in your country, do you know? Are you satisfied by the legislation and the extent to which it covers reconciliation of work and family life? What kind of improvements of national legislations would you suggest? • Do you have any additional local initiatives on municipal level for reconciliation of work and family life? If yes, are you satisfied by them? If no – what kind of local initiatives you would like have?

14. MODULE 5. Case studies of best practices Case study “Collective agreement – platform to build work and life balance in institution/company” Aim: to create awareness of trainees about the companies practices related with reconciliation of work and life balance Task: to read the case study “Collective agreement-platform to build work and life balance in institution/company” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: 30 min. • Questions for reflection: • What is the purpose of the Collective agreement and why that kind of agreement should be in every institution/company? • What do employer gets of concluding Collective agreement in the company? • Whether only trade union can initiate Collective agreement to employer? If no, who else?

15. MODULE 5. Case studies of best practices Case study “Cancer care” Aim: to create awareness of family-friendly initiatives of employers Task: to read the case study “Cancer Care” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: 30 min. • Questions for reflection: • How important was it that the employer reassured the employee that her job was safe during her recovery from illness? • Why is it important that an employer keeps an employee up to date of job developments and make regular visits to an employee who is on long term sick leave? • What are the benefits to an employee of a staged return to work after long term absence to work after illness?

16. MODULE 5. Case studies of best practices Case study “Career is not a bareer for happy family” Aim:to create awareness of family-friendly initiatives of employers Task: to read the case study “Career is not a bareer for happy family” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: 30 min. • Questions for reflection: • What benefits do employee gets in the company, what is the legal base of it? • What is experience with trade unions in your country, have you ever thought of being a trade union member? • What are the benefits to an employee of a staged return to work after long term absence to work after illness?

17. MODULE 5. Case studies of best practices Case study “A Recipe For Success, Flexibility, Childcare And Training” Aim: to create awareness about the initiatives of employers to implement family-friendly measures at workplaces. Task: to read the case study “A Recipe For Success, Flexibility, Childcare And Training” and reflect on the questions provided below. Duration: 30 min. • Questions for reflection: • How could your company and the employee benefit from the similar policies or arrangements? • What difficulties would Polly and her employer face if the after-school arrangements were not available to enable her to work full time? • Do you know or have other type of agreements (except Collective) that strenghten social security of the employee in the company?

18. MODULE 5. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING Legal base of those THREE stepsat European level, step 1 – Social dialogue: ec.europa.eu Social dialogue and employee participation are fundamental components of the European social model that have gained full recognition in the EC Treaty with the Amsterdam reform. Legal base of the Social dialogue is Article 136 to 140 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (EC) Bipartite Social dialogue. According to the original wording of Article 140 of the EC Treaty as it appeared in the Treaty of Rome (Article 118), one of the Commision’s tasks in the social field was to promote close cooperation between Member States in regard to the right of association and collective bargaining between employers and workers. The incorporation of the agreement on social policy into the EC Treaty (Articles 137 to 145), following the Treaty of Amsterdam, finally allowed for a unique framework to apply to social dialogue within the European Union

19. MODULE 5. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING The central role of collective bargaining between workers and employers and their organisations in industrial relations in the Member States is recognised by the EU in Article 28 on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU of December 2000 (‘Rights of Collective Bargaining and Action’) and in Article 12 of the Community Charter of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers of 1989. Collective bargaining is a means of implementing EU directives in the field of employment and industrial relations. Therefore, one specific process of collective bargaining takes place when negotiations develop ‘in the shadow of the law’. European Works Councils (EWC) directive is characterised by a strategy, which is apperantly assuming greater prominence in the EU system: the delegation to the social partners, management and labour of the competence to negotiate the relevant European labour standarts. Legal base of those THREE stepsat European level, step 2 – Collective Bargaining:

20. MODULE 5. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING Legal base of those THREE stepsat European level, step 3 – Collective Agreement: Collective agreements are agreements concluded between single employers or their organisations on the one hand, and organisations of workers such as trade unions on the other. These agreements establish the content of individual contracts of employment and regulate relationships between the parties. At European level, various types of European collective agreements have been issued within the framework of Article 155 TFEU as well as at company level. Social dialogue at enterprise level is very important, because it is the ruling on wages and working conditions, as well as employee involvement in matters affecting the company's management, production and development. The employer is not entitled to negotiate collective bargaining. The negotiation process should begin with planning and proper flow of information security.

21. MODULE 5. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING • Collective agreement typically includes the following: • Salary, bonus and reward systems; • Working hours and holidays (including training and advanced); • Dismissal; • Training and qualification opportunities; • Working conditions and occupational safety and health inspections; • Complaints handling and resolution of conflicts; • Social security; • Case study company, solutions to problems, future development plans, etc.

22. NEXT STEPS TO DO… You have just completed this training module… CONGRATULATIONS! What would be your next step? What actions are you going to take? Don’t worry… we have got some hints for you.. what you couldDO NEXT… undergroundteacher.blogspot.com

23. CLOSING PART – NEXT STEPS TO DO… START TO THINK ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS FOR YOU TO DO: Make a personal plan, set your personal goals; Discuss the ideas of better reconciliation of work and family life with your family members; Organise a discussion on reconciliation of work and family life at your workplace (use e-Handbook on DVD or published on www.family-learning.eu); How could you raise awareness about the family-friendly measures presented in the project at your workplace? Consider the possibility to discuss work-life balance problems with your employer; Think how you could use some of the presented good practices to show to your employer (trade union representative, etc.) as an example of family-friendly measures; Think, who could support you while talking to your employer about your work-family balance problems (representative of trade union, human resource manager, NGOs working in the field, etc.).